President Ma talks up Taiwan’s tourism industry

2014-11-10

President Ma Ying-jeou said Nov. 7 that Taiwan’s tourism industry has been on a roll since he took office in May 2008, with the number of inbound visitors for 2014 expected to hit a record 9 million.

“Taiwan welcomed 3.84 million foreign tourists in 2008,” Ma said. “This figure jumped to 8.01 million last year and stands at over 8.02 million for the first 10 months of 2014.

“There is no question that such impressive growth is a result of the government’s commitment to developing the local tourism industry and assisting Taiwan in fulfilling its potential as a world-class travel destination.”

The president made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the Taipei International Travel Fair at Taipei World Trade Center. A record number of showgoers passed through the gates of the four-day annual event featuring 1,450 exhibition booths.

According to Ma, Taiwan is winning hearts and minds of overseas tourists for its beautiful scenery, friendly people, great food, and beauty treatment and medical care services. “These have all helped Taiwan achieve 26.7 percent growth, the highest worldwide, in inbound visits for the first half of the year.”

In addition, large-scale events such as the Taiwan Open of Surfing in east coast’s Taitung County and annual New Year fireworks at Taipei 101 are contributing to the appeal of Taiwan, Ma said.

“This is particularly obvious given the 12 percent increase in Japanese arrivals, a trend unaffected by the yen’s recent depreciation and subsequent declines in that country’s outbound tourism.”

The president said he expects Taiwan’s tourism industry to go from strength to strength on the back of the nation’s soft power and cross-sector integration. “We will leave no stone unturned in transforming Taiwan into a must-experience destination for travelers visiting the Asia-Pacific region.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=223838&CtNode=413)